Justification:
A tree endemic to Ecuador, one of the many endemic species described by C. Dodson and A. Gentry from the Cerro El Centinela, west of the Río Palenque private reserve. The area was deforested after the original collection, but X. Cornejo and C. Bonifaz recently discovered two new populations. One is inside the Reserva Ecológica Manglares-Churute, in Guayas province, and the other at the Hacienda Daucay, in El Oro province. The Daucay population is especially threatened, because the collection locale is rapidly being converted to pasture. It is likely that additional populations occur in the foothills of the western Andes. Apart from habitat destruction, no specific threats are known.